The Glowing Prequel to The Shining
by MatheusMarchetti
Summary: This is a prequel to Kubrick´s The Shining, tells the story of the previous caretaker of the Overlook Hotel Charles Grady as he descends to madness with his wife and daughters and commites a terrible tragedy.
1. Chapter 1

THE GLOWING: PREQUEL TO "THE SHINING"

By MatheusMarchetti

CHAPTER I – The Overlook

"Here we are!" said the early 40´s, tall and blonde Charles Grady as he parked in front of the mountainside resort – Overlook Hotel.

As a good school kid on his first date, Charles opened the door to his young wife – Becky, offering his arm. She smiled at him and glanced at the Overlook. "It´s beautiful!" she said. Behind them, it came their two 7-year old twin daughters – Lucy and Gabby. "How do you like it girls?" asked Charles to his daughters. They just stared at the hotel, but didn´t say a word.

"Gosh, it´s cold here!" said Becky. "Well, you and the girls can wait inside; the manager Mr. Ullman is waiting for us there. I´ll take the luggage." "Don´t you need help?" asked Becky. "No, no. Just… go on!" Becky turned into the girls and bet them a race to the front door. Charles looked at them with a proud smile on his face. Charles was just thinking, the entire winter, just he, his family and the Overlook. The perfect chance to finish his book and have some peace and quiet. It was just perfect, nothing could co wrong, he thought. Poor Charlie didn´t knew the things that were yet to come, a terrible tragedy, a true experience of the paranormal, the truth behind the hideous crimes that happened in the very roaming halls of the old Overlook Hotel.

As Charles was just picking up the bags, he heard someone behind him. Charles turned around and saw, standing there, Lloyd, the bartender. Lloyd was older than Charles and has been working for the Overlook for years now, on and on.

"Do you need some help Delbert?" asked Lloyd "Oh, yeah… I could need some help… but, my name is not Delbert" "Oh, sorry. It´s just that you reminded me of someone who worked here with me." "Ah, I see" "Are you the new winter caretaker?" "Yes, my name is Charles… Charles Grady" Charles gave his hand to shake with Lloyd, but Lloyd just stood, something was bothering him. The silence was on the air for a few seconds, but then Lloyd continued "My name is Lloyd Hamsley, I´m the bartender of the Overlook Hotel." "Ah… Very nice!" "Yes, yes. Lots of parties, celebreties, it´s like Hollywood has come to the Rockies!" Charles laughed and Lloyd kept talking "Do you drink, Mr. Grady?" "No, no. Quit when I married Rebecca" "Women… can´t live with them, can´t live without them" they laughed and carried the bags up to the Overlook.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 – Fights, frights and solitude

It has been almost a month since Charles and Rebecca "Becky" Grady moved in with their children at the secluded Overlook Hotel as winter caretaker. The snow already started falling; the feeling of solitude grows each day between the Gradys. Becky and Charles´ wedding is slowly tearing apart, with fights and argues.

One Sunny winter morning, Gabby and Lucy were playing in the attic. Lucy decides to look the old stuff under the white sheets. "We aren´t allowed to do this!" said Gabby "Don´t be such a jerk, we won´t get into any trouble". Suddenly Lucy stumbled upon an old Ouija board made in early 20´s. "Sweet!" she said.

Lucy sat down next to Gabby and theirs dolls – Lilly, Sissy and Maggie. They made a circle around the Ouija board. Lucy conducted the "séance" with mystical words that not even Gabby or herself knew it existed "Spirits appear, spirits manifest yourselves… Come to us!" suddenly the attic door shut with the wind. "Lucy stop it!" said Gabby, but I didn´t work. The board was going crazy. It was marking the letters r, e, d, r, u, m making the word "Redrum" then it started forming a word with other letters and numbers; r, o, o, m, 2, 3, 7.

Suddenly, a small window in the attic blew in millions of peaces of glass, nearly killilng the girls. They ran into the door, but it was locked. The Overlook was alive. Once again, it was reborn.

Meanwhile, Charles was typing in the basement next to the boiler. He would write a paragraph then check the boiler to dump it; on the contrary, the Overlook would go with the wind.

The girls escaped from the attic and ran into the hallway. Suddenly, all the doors wide opened on their own and the chandeliers tinkled, they seemed to be going to crash into the ground. The Gradys the hotel´s guests and it wanted them to never check-out. Then, the girls stopped in front of the door of Room 237. "That´s what it tried to say to us!" said Gabby "It can´t save us, Gabby! We must go and find mommy and daddy!"

In the lobby, the big crystal chandelier crashed into the ground. The haunted noise of it caught the attention of Becky, who was cooking in the kitchen and Charles, who was in the basement. "What´s going on here?!" said Charles angrily as he saw Becky "I don´t know! I don´t know!"

They ran through the hallways into they arrived at the lobby. The Gradys were shocked. The twins were next to the accident.

In her entire life, Becky Grady never saw her husband as a monster, not till that they. He spent almost one hour beating on the girls with the belt and made them stay up the how night cleaning the mess without any food for a week! She knew the man who did that, was not Charles, whom she met and got married to.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 – Christmas

It's Christmas, time when the family reunites in a ritual of friendship, respect and love. Becky has prepared a beautiful Christmas tree by the wood burning fireplace in the Colorado Lounge. Charles has cooked a special meal and the girls backed cookies for Santa.

It was almost 11 o'clock, Becky has just put the girls to sleep. Lucy insisted that she wanted to stay and see Santa coming in. Becky smiled and said "Well, if you don't sleep Santa won't come" "O.K." she answered "Sleep tight, hon. Pleasent dreams"

Charles brought his type-writer from the basement up to the lounge. He sat in the couch and started typing. Suddenly, he heard the sweet sound of piano. He turned around surprised. It was Becky, she was playing the piano and singing a Christmas carrol. Charles stood "Ain't you gonna wake up the girls?" she laughed and kept singing. Then, Charles had a strange feeling of deja vu, the lounge was in the middle of a beautiful Christmas' eve party, people were dressed in suits and gala dresses. A young woman, who was almost a twin to his wife was seating and playing the piano. It was a pleasent sight.

Later that night, the young couple went back to sleep, in their warm bedroom under the cozy white sheets, she whispered in his year "Good night" and kissed him. Charles stood his arm and turned off the light.

Gabby woke up in the middle of the night, she was hearing noises. It's Santa Claus bringing us presents, she tought. She put on her coat and got down the stairs in silent steps. As she reached the Colorado Lounge, it was empty. The fireplace was still on, no gifts under the Christmas tree and the cookies and milk were still there. Then she heard the noise of wood chopping and screams. She recgonize the screams, it was her mom's and her sister's scream. Gabby runned into the lobby and saw it filled with blood on the wall. "Mommy!" she screamed. Then, she turned around and saw a disfigured shadow carrying a shotgun. Then... BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!" screamed Gabby as she woke up in the middle of the night from a terrible nightmare.

On the morning after, Gabby didn't tell anyone about her nightmare, not even for Lucy. The girls went running down the stairs to find their beautifully colored dollhouse, which they asked Santa for Christmas.

The cookies were eaten up and the milk glass was totally dry. The girls went immediatley to play with their dollhouse in their room.

Charles and Becky watched, proud of their kids. It was the Gradys' last Christmas.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 – Room 237; Infidelity

Charles was walking from one side to the other in the basement, staring at the typewriter and frequently looking at the boiler. He was just thinking about the previous things that happened during their first weeks at the Overlook. He knew he was changing; Charles was struggling against something within him. Something he didn´t even know it existed.

Becky has presence this other Charlie Grady, so did their kids. Charles was going through a hard time. How would be their lives after that winter of 1970? That´s why he needed to write the book. That fucking book! It was all that mattered to him now, it´s the book every time.

Suddenly, Charles was surprised by a woman. It wasn´t his wife, rather, the woman was younger with a long black hair and in a bathrobe.

Charles just wanted to ask "Who are you?" or "What are you doing here?" but the lady´s beauty has possessed him. He followed the woman, up the elevator. She pressed the button number 2; she was a guest at the second floor…

"Room 237!" said Lucy "What about room 237?" asked Gabby "That´s what the board said"

"Mommy and dad would never believe us!" they thought. The girls changed subject and kept on playing with their new dollhouse.

"So, do you visit the Overlook often?" he asked to the mysterious lady. No sound came from her mouth. She picked up a silver key from her bathrobe´s pocket. It was numbered 237. She opened the door of her room to Charles. Charles entered.

Room 237 was a big and ampler room. It was similar to the presidential suite, but a bit smaller. She entered the bathroom and closed the door. He sat on her bed and looked into the floor. The carpet had strange drawings, it didn´t seem like good things, but rather bad things…

Becky was cooking in the kitchen. She was organizing the table to the lunch as the spaghetti and the sauce were cooking. Becky wanted perfection, even though the Gradys weren´t a rich family, Becky was born in a rich one. Her sister was killed when she was only 4 and her mother was crazy, every night bringing men home and sleeping with it. Becky would spy on her mom doing "bad stuff", she didn´t knew what it was, but she new it wasn´t nice. Sometimes, Becky even tried to help her mom out, but it was impossible. She ran away and went leaving in her grandparent´s place in Boulder; it was in collage when she met Charles. Becky was so distracted thinking about her past that she even forgot of her kids playing in the playground outside the hotel.

Outside the hotel, Gabby challenged Lucy into coming with her in the hedge maze. Lucy smiled and they went inside the maze, playing hide and seek.

Before calling out Charles and the girls to have lunch, Becky went to her piano and started playing it, it wasn´t a very happy song, a rather sad sound.

Suddenly she felt a man´s arm around her, hugging her in an amorous embrace. She felt down to the floor, she didn´t see that man, but she could feel him. He took over her clothes, slowly and started kissing her all the way down. A feeling of pain and agony, yet a feeling of pleasure and desires.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Room 237; Infidelity (Part II)

Charles waited, seating on the bed. He was looking at the woman´s stuff. He suddenly stumbled upon a note, a suicide note. He read it out loud "Mark has left me, Jim is probably looking for me by now, he´s coming, and I can feel it. The hotel is calling me, I can´t resist it. I must do what my parents should´ve done before they brought me to light. Time is over to me, now it´s the moment that I must end"

Charles suddenly felt a really bad stomachache, it seemed like the world was falling apart to him, and he held the pain. Stood up and went to the bathroom door, it was locked. He knocked on it…

That invisible man was holding on Becky´s breasts, kissing them, licking them. She screamed "Lick lower". It was a strong feeling. Her eyes were closed. S

Suddenly, that ritual of lust had become violent, that force held her, she couldn't stand up. He was raping her. She opened her eyes and saw a monstrous demon in front of her. She screamed….

Outside the Overlook, in the hedge maze, Lucy was looking for Gabby. "Gabby, get out, get out wherever you are…"

Meanwhile, Gabby was lost in the maze. She was tired and sweating. Gabby sat down and said "All right, all right, you won. Let´s go back to the hotel"

Lucy found herself on the edge of the maze. She was surrounded by hedge animals, forming a circle around her. She heard a noise, and turned around. The animals were coming closer to her. She called out for her sister "Gabby? Gabby, please help me!" she started to cry.

"I´m coming in!" said Charles. The door opened. He entered. The bathroom was all green from top to bottom and very big. He saw the woman´s shadow behind the bathtub curtain. She was laughing. Charles smiled. He approached the bathtub… "And heeeeeeere I come!" he said as he pulled out the curtain. That sight was the grossest thing he ever saw. That body should´ve was decomposing in that tub for many years. Charles was in shock, the words of the suicide note, as said by the woman, repeating over and over in his head.

Suddenly, her eyes opened, she smiled and pulled him into the tub, drowning him into the water. Charles couldn´t breath, she was trying to kill him. He could hear her voice saying from above the water "We´ll be together… forever and ever and ever" Eventually Charles was able to pick up his pocket knife (every caretaker needed one) and sliced her troath. He stood up and saw as she groaned like a demon and sank under the tub of her own blood.

Gabby followed her sister´s voice and saw her screaming in the middle of a circle of topiary. Gabby was able to pull her sister out and they ran.

Becky was shaking, she was in total shock. Her face was white pale. She walked around the lobby in horror, tears rolling on her face. She armed herself with a kitchen knife and slowly walked on, climbing the stairs. Suddenly, she heard footsteps. She ran and hid on a closet. The footsteps stopped outside the closet door. Becky closed her mouth and opened the door, about the attack the "beast" with the knife.

"Take it easy! Take it easy!" said Charles as he appeared in front of her. She dropped the knife into the floor and hugged him, crying. He tried to comfort her "It´s all right dear! Hush, hush"

They went to up to the caretaker´s apartment and she sat on the bed. He stood staring at her "Now, I´m going to get some tea in the kitchen to calm you down, and you´ll tell me everything, O.K?" "Yes"

As Charles walked to the door, she shouted "Please, don´t leave me here!" then at this exact moment the twins appeared "Thank god!" said Charles "Now, stay here and look after your mom, would´ya?" the girls smiled and entered.

Charles arrived in the kitchen. He got a beautiful cup on the cupboard and put water on it. As he waited for it to warm up, Charles sat. He took some time to think of what was going on. They needed to leave the Overlook, once and for all.


End file.
